Each year when federal statistics are released, it comes as little surprise that violations of OSHA's Hazard Communication Standard are among the top 10 safety citations issued to general industry. With more than 4,000 violations issued each year, OSHA continues to make it quite clear that having a dusty, nearly empty binder of MSDS wedged on the top shelf of someone's office is not enough.
The Illinois facility was storing chlorine and diesel fuel over the minimum threshold level and failed to provide emergency and hazardous chemical inventory forms to state and local authorities, EPA said.
This prediction is contained in a new report the Safe Work Australia Council agreed to post at its first meeting earlier this month. The council also created a Strategic Issues Group to write the planned model OSH act.
The agency wants comments by Aug. 4 on how it should write a rule that will require accidental chemical releases to be reported to it or to the National Response Center.
Three separate companies were issued willful violations for failing to provide a competent person to supervise the removal of a ceiling that contained asbestos, to provide the required respiratory equipment, and to inform workers that the worksite contained asbestos.
Michael D. Brown also will be speaking on themes of Communicating in a Crisis and Making Things Work When All the Wires Are Cut in his general session keynote at the Alliance of Hazardous Materials Professionals National Conference in September.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration announced Friday it has renewed the American Pyrotechnics Association's exemption from the hours of service regulation for 61 member motor carriers and about 3,000 of their drivers.
"These grants provide direct support for regional preparedness, urban security, and medical response efforts in communities across the country," said DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano on Tuesday.
The asbestos contamination there has been known for years, and a high-profile criminal trial ended in acquittals of W.R. Grace and three individuals and a dismissal of charges on Monday against a fourth defendant.
This special regional emphasis program will set targeted inspections in industries or workplaces where there is a potential for lead exposure, and also will cover complaints and referrals regarding lead exposure.
The presentation took place at a ceremony last Friday. This Friday, most state agencies will be closed as Michigan saves $21.7 million by requiring 37,400 employees to take a total of six unpaid furlough days this summer.
The federal agency decided to retain the exemption for firefighters out of concern wearing compliant apparel that might not be fire-resistant could increase their risk during emergencies.
A federal inspection on April 6, 2009, found the site's field drainage system, oil traps, sumps, and skimmers were not regularly inspected and oil not properly removed, among other violations.
The need for training, communications, and community planning is made clear in the video released June 10 by the federal agency.
A board member for five years, she has been on-scene member at 15 events, including the devastating 2005 freight train chlorine spill in Graniteville, S.C.
Ten years ago today, Liam Wood, 18, Stephen Tsiorvas, 10, and Wade King, 10, died in a fireball from a leaking gasoline pipeline. The incident shocked the state and prompted a stronger federal law governing underground pipeline inspections and enforcement.
According to EPA, the copper in the naval shipyard's wastewater comes from sandblasting and painting of vessels in dry dock at the shipyard. The shipyard is allowed to discharge its wastewater into Sinclair Inlet, but only if the wastewater complies with the site's NPDES permit.
The Phoenix-based facility stores asphalt cement, boiler oil, and diesel fuel at levels requiring reporting, but it failed to provide chemical hazard information and submit a chemical inventory to local authorities, EPA said.
Water quality within the South Fork of the Coeur d'Alene River is severely degraded due to dissolved metals from historic mining activities, EPA said, noting that major tributaries are devoid of aquatic life due to high concentrations of dissolved metals.
EPA found that the site was storing sulfuric acid, lead, and propane gas in amounts greater than the minimum threshold levels allowed before reporting requirements kick in.